The United States will allow all fully vaccinated travelers to enter the country (CNN) via land borders with Canada and Mexico beginning early next month, U.S. officials said. Such crossings had been limited to essential travelers since March 2020.
 
Leaders of border communities, which depend on such travel for tourism and family visits, celebrated the announcement (El Paso Matters). The United States will also require (NYT) essential travelers across land borders to be fully vaccinated beginning in January. Officials said the precise date that land and air travel will be permitted for fully vaccinated travelers will be announced (Reuters) “very soon.” A rule known as Title 42 that blocks many people from seeking asylum at the southern U.S. border will stay in place.

The tests of samples from late 2019 are part of an investigation into the origin of the coronavirus, a Chinese official told CNN.
 
For Foreign Affairs, CFR’s Thomas J. Bollyky and Yanzhong Huang argue that an independent coalition of scientists should investigate the virus’s origins.
 
China/Argentina: Chinese companies bought the rights (Nikkei) to three Argentine lithium mines in three weeks amid a global race to secure supplies of the metal crucial to the production of electric car batteries.

Of the country’s 135 thermal plants, 107 do not have enough supplies to operate for more than a week, Nikkei reported. Analysts blame elevated prices of coal imports (India Today) and an unexpectedly fast economic reopening.
 
Myanmar: In his first public comments since the country’s February coup, deposed President Win Myint testified in a trial that the military threatened him (Reuters) and forced him from power, contradicting generals who falsely insisted that no coup occurred.
 
For the Asia Unbound blog, CFR’s Joshua Kurlantzick looks at the challenges Myanmar’s opposition faces in working toward a brighter future.

The top diplomats from the United States, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates meet today (Times of Israel) in Washington to mark the first anniversary of the Abraham Accords. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will reportedly warn Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid about the risks of Chinese investment in Israel.
 
CFR’s Martin S. Indyk, Dalia Dassa Kaye, and Daniel B. Shapiro discuss the Abraham Accords and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at this virtual meeting.
 
Iraq: Security forces said they captured the finance chief (NYT) of the self-declared Islamic State. Washington had offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture.

Kenya said it rejects “in totality” (Al Jazeera) a decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that said a disputed ocean area near Kenya’s coast belongs to Somalia.
 
Morocco: In a rare public appearance, the leader of the Polisario Front said the group will continue to fight (AP) for Western Sahara’s independence from Morocco. The United Nations has stalled on setting a referendum for the territory’s future; the United States recognizes Morocco’s sovereignty over it.

European Union (EU) officials are expected to propose decreased border checks (BBC) on goods moving from Great Britain to North Ireland in an effort to resolve a dispute with the United Kingdom over restrictions agreed to in Brexit negotiations.
 
Slovakia: Peter Kazimir, the head of the country’s central bank and a member of the European Central Bank’s Governing Council, was charged with bribery (Bloomberg) and is under pressure to step down.

The U.S. State Department told embassy personnel in Bogota that it would address the reports (WSJ) of the mysterious neurological ailment “seriously, with objectivity, and with sensitivity.”
 
Argentina: President Alberto Fernandez told a group of businessmen that the country’s reworked deal with the International Monetary Fund will not come until next year (Bloomberg).